ALOR SETAR, 3 Jan 2018:
The price of ikan kembong (Indian mackerel) in the district has soared above RM15 per kg – compared to RM10 per kg earlier – due to the prevailing northeast monsoon, which caused a fall in fishing catch over past one month.
A Bernama survey at Seberang Kota fish platform in Kuala Kedah found, most fishermen could only bring in about 5-20kg compared to 80-100kg before this.
“Today, I caught about 20kg compared to 100kg earlier and my income had suffered…luckily there is the monthly fishermen living allowance of RM300 from the government to relieve my daily expenditure,” said fisherman, Mahadi Mohd, 45.
Meanwhile, a trader, Khadijah Md Shah, 43, said consumers were complaining about the price hike of ikan kembong which is a popular fish among people here as they could only afford to buy in much smaller quantity.
“Customers have to understand the demand and supply of the fish as traders have no reason raise prices indiscriminately as unsold fish will go bad.”
– Bernama